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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

When asked this question, the immediate answer is, yes. Robert Louis Stevenson uses the features of a conventional horror story, which were very popular at the time, but also uses the story to raise social issues and make criticisms about the hypocrisy and double standards of Victorian society, in general, and Victorian London in particular.

The first aspect of horror to be noticed is that the main events of the story, such as the death of Mr. Hyde, usually take place at night. The idea of these events taking place at night creates an eerie atmosphere, full of suspense. An example of this is the setting for when he little girl …show more content…

The trampling of the little girl is an example of this. The word "calmly" is used in this incident to show that Mr. Hyde did it purposefully and that he had no remorse for doing it. The servant girl who witnesses the killing of Sir Danvers Carew described the crime as "insensate", or without feeling. Mr. Hyde obviously had no apparent reason for killing Carew and therefore makes the act motiveless. The descriptive phrases also make the incidents seem very horrific and that Mr. Hyde may be someone who frequently goes around harming people without a motive considering that this is the second incident of unprovoked violence.

Robert Louis Stevenson also makes links with Satan or superhuman powers. He describes Hyde as "really like Satan". When Utterson meets Hyde for the first time, he says,

"…if I ever read Satan's signature upon a face, it is on that of your new friend".

Hyde was obviously an evil person, but these two quotes show how he gave an outward appearance as being evil and that he gave a feeling of association with Satan without him even having to commit a crime.

Hyde is described many times in the book and every time it is not in a pleasant way. Enfield, a friend of Utterson the lawyer, describes him as giving "a strong sense of deformity" and that he could not "specify the point". It causes Enfield to feel disgust towards him, but

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